Bioinfo_eXtrema : un enfoque bioinformático para integrar información ambiental, bioquímica y genómica, enfocado en bioprospección y selección de consorcios de microorganismos con aplicaciones en biorremediación

Abstract

The ability to identify microbe extremophiles with metabolic capabilities suited for specific bioprocesses opens the doors of extreme environments for development of new industrial products. Identification of key functional components from existing biodiversity supported selection of candidate isolates from three Penicillium fungal species. These candidates were evaluated in vitro to further characterize their potential as components of a microbial consortium for biorremediation of industrial effluents containing lignocellulosic residues. Results from annotation of available genomic sequences for one of these Penicillium species pointed to the existence of putative genes highly similar to those functionally identified in reference fungi for degradation of lignin in natural environments. Proposed functional annotations from available sequences were identified through a specialized database –Fungal Oxidative Lignin Enzymes (FOLy)– and could be contrasted straightforward with experimental results for strains growing in different media containing lignin, representing extreme industry-related environments. We propose the as- sembly of Bioinfo_eXtreme as an industrial-biotechnology-centered bioinformatics approach for consortia selection, combining diverse data mining techniques –components of the Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA)–, to facilitate inte- gration of available molecular information and relevant phenotypic indicators for biorremediation applications.